Nonprofit Data Project

Founded in 2008, the Nonprofit Data Project of the Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation (PSI) has created a working group of data experts, scholars, policymakers, foundations, and social sector leaders working to meet the urgent need for accessible, high-quality information for a transparent and thriving civil society.

Among its accomplishments, the project has:

• Secured open access to Form 990 tax data: PSI’s multi-year efforts led to the release of electronically-filed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Forms 990 as open, machine-readable data, via the Taxpayer First Act of 2019. Such data was previously locked behind expensive and cryptic files that stymied understanding of our nation’s vast civil society. The availability of free and open 990 data has led to breakthroughs in nonprofit knowledge, scholarship, practice and oversight.
• Improved nonprofit employment data access: After years of advocacy and convenings initiated by PSI— working in close communication with Lester Salamon of Johns Hopkins University —the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) agreed to release nonprofit wage and employment data on the nonprofit sector every five years starting in 2014.
• Built the Nonprofit Open Data Collective: Working with members of the 990 data community, PSI spawned the Nonprofit Open Data Collective, The Collective strengthens the work of nonprofits on the ground, enhances transparency, and provides critical information and knowledge to those who work for, and with, nonprofits. The Collective does this by working together to exchange information, develop joint solutions and advocate for improvements in the nonprofit data ecosystem.
• Seeded the 990 Data Infrastructure Project: The development of the 990 Data Infrastructure Project is a direct extension of the collaborative efforts of the Nonprofit Open Data Collective, as well as the recommendations and convenings around a landmark Johnson Center report, Stories From the Frontier, and this Stanford Social Innovation Review article by Jeff Williams and Cinthia Schuman Ottinger. These developments led to the creation of a new, free source of raw 990 data built by GivingTuesday, in cooperation with major data providers in the field, such as Urban Institute, ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer, Candid, CitizenAudit and Charity Navigator. By creating a centralized, curated set of raw, clean, and standardized U.S. nonprofit tax data for free, the project is helping to lower barriers to using nonprofit data for research and innovation.
• Achieved 990 data improvements: New tools dedicated to enhancing search and download features on IRS.gov. help to make 990 data more accessible and facilitate research and analysis.
  Working collaboratively with others, the Nonprofit Data Project plays a critical role in illuminating the role of civil society in the United States today.